Motorbike License

In Thailand, people don’t generally fail things. It’s a cultural thing having to do with people not wanting to loose face. As you can imagine getting a license in a country where it is really hard to fail was quite a joke. The licensing process is more about giving them your time and being willing to play the game.

The process took 5 hours but all things considered it wasn’t very difficult. First we had to take a color test, then we had to push a gas peddle till the light turned red and hit the break. Next we had to watch 2 hours of video’s, almost like a mini drivers ed.

After the video’s we went and sat in the testing room for about 30 mins, waiting to take our written test. They changed their minds about us taking the written test before the driving test and decided that we needed a lunch break.

After lunch we had to do the driving course. The course consisted of dodging a couple of cones, making a couple of turns with blinkers and stopping with only one foot down. We tested in a big line and there were only two people watching us, so needless to say everyone passed with flying colors. As long as we didn’t fall off of our bikes, I think it was impossible to fail.

Lastly we had to take the written test. The written test was filled with stupid questions most of which were unrelated to motorbikes. The winner of the stupid question the test contest was:

You are prohibited from driving when____________
a. You believe you might have a heart attack
b. You have a cold
c. You have been consuming alcohol
d. You just woke up

The answer was “A” You believe you might have a heart attack. Now I get the logic that, those are not ideal driving conditions but I’m not really sure how a heart attack is worse then drinking and driving. That just goes to show how the importaint part of the licensing procedure is about playing the game and not by using logic.

After taking the test I was given some paperwork and went to go get my picture and get my license. The name on my license reads “Miss Amlinda Ann Harrington”.